He takes the job to make some extra money, but soon he realizes that it would be an excellent setting for a novel. Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a struggling writer, who on the advice of his father takes a job as a croupier at a local casino, a job he previously held when he lived in South Africa. It makes up for the dozens of dreadful independent films one has to mine to find such a gem. It is an expertly written story that is subtly directed and superbly acted. This film-noir crime drama gets my vote for sleeper of the year.
